Your home computer is the perfect machine. It's customized to your exact needs, runs all your must-have apps, and holds every important file you'd ever need to access. The catch: It's not exactly practical to lug a computer with you everywhere you go. That's where remote access comes in. Here are three dead-simple ways to control your home computer from anywhere—your laptop, phone, or even a friend's computer—as though you were sitting directly in front of it.

Blast from the past
is a new weekly feature at Lifehacker, in which we revive old, but
still relevant, posts for your reading and hacking pleasure. This week, since LogMeIn has shut down its free service, we're reviving this post on how to remotely access your computer for free. Be sure to check out our Hive Five on remote desktop applications, as well, since the ones discussed in this post are just a few of the many available.

When you need to access your computer when you're away from home, or troubleshoot someone…
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We've talked about remote access countless times before, but if you're just starting out with the subject, it can be pretty overwhelming. You have a ton of different programs to choose from, some of which only work on certain platforms, and each of which has their own strengths depending on what you're trying to accomplish. Here, we'll share our favorite remote access methods for different situations, as well as alternatives you can try if our favorite doesn't work for you.

We've listed the cross platform options below for everyone, but there are also Windows-only and Mac-only programs for people that use the same OS on all their machines. Click your preference below to add its instructions to the guide.

The Simplest Option: Use TeamViewer

By far the easiest way to access another computer is to use the awesome,
cross-platform TeamViewer. You'll need to install some extra software and create an account, but overall it's pretty simple to set up, and has some very nice features. Here's how it works.

Download and install TeamViewer
on both your home computer and remote computer. Start it up and create
an account by going to Connection > Set Up Unattended Access. This
will make all your computers accessible over the internet with just a
quick username and password combination.

Log into your account
on your home computer. You should see that it's already been added to
TeamViewer's list of machines. Leave TeamViewer running in the
background when you leave the house.

Run TeamViewer on your
remote machine and log into your account. You should immediately see
your home computer in the list. Double-click on it to start a remote
session with that machine.

It really is that simple. Sure,
it requires creating an account and downloading extra software, but it's totally worth it. You can share files between machines (though not quite
as easily as you can with Windows Remote Desktop), you can view
multiple monitors, and configure advanced View settings to make it run
as smoothly as possible. Even if you're trying to connect two Windows
computers or two Macs, I'd still check out TeamViewer in addition to our
platform-specific choices below—it's very good, and might offer you a
few advantages over the other options. Note that TeamViewer also has an iOS and Android app, if you want to connect from your phone, as well
as a web client, if you're on a friend's computer and don't want to
install any extra software on their machine. Plus, it has support for wake-on-LAN, which means you can put your home computer to sleep and wake it up when you want to use it, all without being in front of it. That's pretty great.

Other Cross Platform Programs

TeamViewer isn't the only cross-platform option, but it is our favorite for its simplicity. LogMeIn is popular, but it's no longer free. Still, with features like drag-and-drop file
transfer, file sync, and others, it's pretty solid. It's only accessible from a web browser
and has a slightly more confusing set up, which is why we gave
TeamViewer the edge.

If you're connecting from a Windows computer to a Mac, you can use a screen sharing client like TightVNC or UltraVNC
to connect to your Mac running the built-in Screen Sharing.

Windows to Windows: Use the Built-In Remote Desktop Connection

Windows users have a ton of options, but we really like Windows' built-in Remote Desktop Connection for its Windows integration, high level of control, and the fact that it doesn't require any additional software to set up. Note that you'll need Windows Professional or higher for this feature to be available—Windows Home and Home Premium users will have to try one of the alternatives listed below—but that's usually pretty easy to get at a low price. Here's how to use it to access your Windows computer from another Windows machine.

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If You're Connecting from Inside Your Network

If you're on the same network as the computer you want to connect to, using Remote Desktop is quite simple. Just follow these steps:

On the computer you want to access remotely, click the Start menu and search for "allow remote access". Choose the "Allow Remote Access to This Computer" option. You'll get something like the window to the right. You'll want to check one of the bottom two radio buttons, depending on how you'll be accessing the computer. If you're accessing it from another Windows 7 machine, you can use the more secure "Allow connections only from Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication". If you're accessing it from other programs or versions of Windows, choose the "Allow connections from any version of Remote Desktop" option. Click OK when you're done.

On your remote computer, go to the Start button and search for "Remote Desktop". Choose "Remote Desktop Connection", and type in the name of the computer you want to access (like STEVESCOMPUTER or LIVINGROOM—the name you gave it when you installed Windows. (If you're not sure what your computer is named, go to the Start menu, right-click on Computer, and scroll down to "Computer Name".

Click "Connect." Log in with the username and password you use on your home computer to gain access.

That's it! This is definitely one of the best ways to connect if you're just sitting in another room, though it gets a bit more complicated if you're away from home.

If You're Connecting from Outside Your Network

If you're connecting from afar, you'll need to do some extra steps: most notably you'll need to forward ports on your router. It takes a bit more initial setup, but you don't need to install any extra software.

From your home computer, log into your router's administration page and forward TCP port 3389 to the computer you want to access, as described in this how-to.

Find your home computer's public ip by going to http://whatismyip.org and write down this IP address. Unfortunately, this public IP address could change at any time, leaving you without access. So, we actually recommend you also use a service like DynDNS to create a very simple domain name that you can use to connect your computer and using that instead.

On the computer you want to access remotely, click the Start menu and search for "allow remote access". Choose the "Allow Remote Access to This Computer" option. You'll get something like the window to the right. You'll want to check one of the bottom two radio buttons, depending on how you'll be accessing the computer. If you're accessing it from another Windows 7 machine, you can use the more secure "Allow connections only from Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication". If you're accessing it from other programs or versions of Windows, choose the "Allow connections from any version of Remote Desktop" option. Click OK when you're done.

Once you've left the house, go to the Start button on your remote computer and search for "Remote Desktop". Choose "Remote Desktop Connection", and type in the IP address you found earlier (or your DynDNS name that you set up).

Click "Connect." Log in with the username and password you use on your home computer to gain access.

From now on, you can connect to your home computer just by repeating steps 4 and 5.

As you can see, Remote Desktop requires a bit more initial setup than something like TeamViewer, but it can be worth it for the speed and great Windows integration it brings you. Not only does it match the resolution of your remote computer, so it really feels like you're using that machine—but you can copy and paste text or files just by pressing Ctrl+C as normal in the Remote Access window, then pressing Ctrl+V to paste them onto your current computer. I also recommend you check out the options available in the Remote Desktop Connection program—you can choose how much of your display to show, whether to show high quality graphics, which hard drives to share, share your printer, and lots more.

Its main downsides are that it isn't exactly the prettiest option, and that it doesn't support multiple monitors at all. The resolution thing might also be a downside for some. I like it because it makes it feel more like the computer's in front of me, but it will resize all your windows to fit the new resolution and you'll have to fix them once you get home. I recommend you give both Remote Desktop and TeamViewer a try, because they're almost equally good in my opinion (though they each have their own strengths and weaknesses).

Other Windows to Windows Programs

As I said above, you should definitely try TeamViewer as described in the cross platform section above—it's just as good as Remote Desktop, and if you have multiple monitors, it's going to probably be even better. It'll require extra software and creating an account, but it's worth it. Remote Desktop seems to be a bit more responsive when typing and clicking, though TeamViewer seems much smoother when it comes to moving around windows. Give them both a try and see which one you like better.

Other popular options for Windows include screen sharing clients like UltraVNC. TightVNC is also popular (and available on Linux), though UltraVNC is a bit more feature-filled. Both clients let you access your computer from any web browser as well, which is nice, but they're also a bit more complicated than Remote Desktop or TeamViewer.

Mac to Mac: Use the Built-In Screen Sharing

OS X has a pretty great Screen Sharing feature built right into the OS, and you can use it to access any Mac from another Mac in no time at all. Here's how to use it.

If You're Connecting from Inside Your Network

If you're on the same network as the computer you want to connect to,
using Remote Desktop is quite simple. Just follow these steps:

On the computer you want to access remotely, head to System Preferences and click on the Sharing Pane. Check the box that says "Screen Sharing". Then exit System Preferences.

On your remote computer, open the Finder and scroll down to "Shared". Find the name of the computer you want to connect to under the "All" option, double-click on it, then click the Share Screen button in the upper right-hand corner. Log in with the username and password you use on your home computer, and you should connect immediately.

That's it! From now on, you should be able to connect to your home computer any time by repeating step 2. Things get a bit more complicated if you're away from home, however.

If You're Connecting from Outside Your Network

If you're connecting from afar, you'll need to forward the ports on your router so that you directly connect to your home computer from the internet. It takes a bit more initial setup, but you don't need to install any extra software.

From your home computer, log into your router's administration page and forward both TCP and UDP port 5900 to the computer you want to access, as described in this how-to.

Find your home computer's public IP by going to http://whatismyip.org and write down this IP address. Unfortunately, this public IP address could change at any time, leaving you without access. So, we actually recommend you also use a service like DynDNS to create a very simple domain name that you can use to connect your computer and using that instead.

On the computer you want to access remotely, head to System Preferences and click on the Sharing Pane. Check the box that says "Screen Sharing". Then exit System Preferences.

Once you've left the house, open the Finder and go to Go > Connect to Server. Type in vnc://12.345.678.90, using the IP address or DynDNS address from step two. Click Connect, log in with the username and password you use on your home computer, and you should see the Screen Sharing client pop up.

From now on, you can connect to your home computer just by repeating step 4.

Screen Sharing is really, really simple to set up, but it isn't without a few downsides. Namely, you can't share files directly between your remote computer and the one you're currently using. Of course, you could just use something like Dropbox to work around this problem, but it's kind of annoying. You can, however, copy text in one machine and paste it into the other, so that's at least nice. And, if you use screen sharing often, be sure to check out previously mentionedScreenSharingMenulet for instant access to your machine from your menu bar.

Mac OS X: ScreenSharingMenulet gives you easy access to local, remote, and Back to My Mac VNC…
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Other Mac to Mac Programs

Apple has a few other remote access options for you on OS X. iCloud's Back to My Mac is pretty similar to Screen Sharing, and is very easy to set up through iCloud—though we've found it to be a bit less reliable than the built-in Screen Sharing method. You can also check out Apple Remote Desktop, which lets you share files, run Automator scripts, and do a lot more advanced things—but for the somewhat high price of $79.

Lastly, you also have the cross-platform TeamViewer, described in the first section. It requires some extra software and creating an account with the TeamViewer service, but you'll get better file sharing features and quite a bit of control over your remote machine. If Screen Sharing isn't cutting it, TeamViewer is definitely worth a shot.

That seems like a lot of information, but all of the above options are pretty darn simple to set up—you just have a lot of choices as to how you want to do it. What's your favorite way to connect to your computer remotely? Let us know what you prefer and why in the comments below.